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August 30, 2015

This Guy Perfectly Sums Up The Difference Between Childhood And Adulthood

A question was posed to an online community: What is the worst thing about becoming an adult? And this one user’s response blew everyone away. This sums up the difference between childhood and adulthood perhaps a little too well. I can relate, and I’m sure many others can as well.

“As a kid, you’re on a path, there’s a plan laid out for you, and whether you intentionally break from the plan or follow it to the letter, there’s this linear progression of growth, and an ultimate goal to strive for.

You have allies, you have enemies, you have trials that you pass or fail, you have moments of catharsis, etc. You feel like part of a beautiful narrative, like the heroes in movies and books and TV shows and stories. You feel like there’s a right and a wrong way to go, and some ultimate fate waiting for you at the end that will sum up what all of it meant.

When you get to be an adult, that illusion crumbles away as you realize that you don’t have a narrative, there is no path or plan, things aren’t always linear, and you’re nobody’s hero. There are no allies, because friends can be both good and bad for you simultaneously. There are no enemies, because frankly no one cares enough to wage a personal war for long.

You don’t have a destiny. You make choices that are more a product of random chance than you want to admit, and sometimes the consequences make sense, sometimes they don’t. You may flounder around in a bunch of different directions for many years, ultimately not making any progress, and having nothing of import to show for it.

You’re not a good person or an evil person – you’re just an ant wandering around looking for crumbs. No, worse than an ant, because an ant has a purpose in life, to serve its queen and colony. You can choose to align yourself with a purpose, but it may never fulfill you or reward you. And nobody will be waiting with a shiny gold medal for you if you stick to it.

Life as an adult seems less and less like an exciting adventure story and more and more like a delirious, confusing fog of random developments and passing phases that raise more questions than they answer.

I think when childhood dies, when our dreams die, we go through the stages of grief like with any other loss. I think it’s therapeutic to acknowledge it, and then start rebuilding. Adulthood is different than I thought it would be, but I’m not giving up yet, and neither should you.”